{"id":2959,"date":"2022-03-14T12:49:19","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lightsailed.com\/homeschool\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2022-03-17T08:32:30","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T08:32:30","slug":"3-womens-history-month-projects-for-high-schoolers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsailed.com\/homeschool\/blog\/book-recommendations\/3-womens-history-month-projects-for-high-schoolers\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s History Month Projects for High Schoolers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March is Women\u2019s History Month, the perfect opportunity to focus on influential women in history. When your kids were little, you might have celebrated the month with picture books, coloring sheets, and hands-on projects. Now that you have high schoolers, is there still time in the day for observing special occasions like this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course! You can include Women\u2019s History Month lessons in your homeschool reading and writing plans while also supporting your teens\u2019 academic goals. Here are three ideas to get you started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Top 10 Lists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One key skill that your kids should develop before college is how to back up an assertion with evidence. In other words, they need to know how to use details from a text to support their claims when they\u2019re speaking or writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can give your teens practice with this by asking them to compose a list of the top 10 most important women in history. The goal is for your student to conduct research, come up with a list of 10 choices, and cite evidence to back up each woman\u2019s inclusion on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Browsing through the Biography Center<\/a> may get your students\u2019 wheels turning. Once they have some ideas, they can look through women\u2019s biographies for additional research. Series like Boss Lady Bios<\/em>, Gateway Biographies<\/em>, and STEM Trailblazers<\/em> could be helpful for this project. They include titles such as Michelle Obama<\/em><\/a>, Elizabeth Blackwell<\/em><\/a>, and Jane Goodall<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Michelle<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Elizabeth<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Animal<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Handy hint: Before diving into the project, have your students watch the video<\/a> \u201cGather evidence and cite sources\u201d for a clear explanation of what’s involved in citing evidence.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama in the Green Room of the White House, Feb. 12, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)\n\nThis official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and\/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Image credit: obamawhitehouse.archives.gov)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Image credit: womenshistory.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Image credit: nationalgeographic.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Primary Source Investigation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are your high schoolers familiar with primary sources? Those are historical materials that are directly connected to a particular event. Examples include speeches, photographs, newspaper accounts, and personal letters. In research, primary sources are valuable sources of information because they reveal firsthand details about an event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autobiographies are a type of primary source, too, since they are written by the person who experienced the story. Biographies, on the other hand, are secondary sources. They are penned by an outside author, often long after the subject has died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Women\u2019s History Month, have your students read an autobiography and a biography about the same person. One option is to read Helen Keller\u2019s The Story of My Life<\/em><\/a> as well as the Biography Center article on Keller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\nThe<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ask your teens to note the differences they see between the two texts either within LightSail\u2019s notes module or writing\/typing in a document.  This can form a foundation for future writing assignments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This critical thinking activity can help lay a foundation for their future interactions with primary and secondary sources.  It\u2019s also a great time to practice citation of these materials for future Works Cited pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Image credit: biography.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Bias Search<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Writers are human, and their works often reflect their personal biases. Some biographers speak favorably of their subjects. Others, less so. During high school, students should learn to recognize bias in the works they read and evaluate how it affects the message.  This will give them the basis for future work in literary criticism in higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have your students read passages from women\u2019s biographies. Ask them to search for clues that indicate the author\u2019s bias.  This forms a great basis for a compare and contrast writing project as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dolores Huerta section of Cesar Chavez: with profiles of Terence V. Powderly and Dolores Huerta<\/em><\/a> is a good one to use. Have your students look for words that the author uses to describe Huerta. Yours might spot \u201cfiesty,\u201d \u201ccombative,\u201d and \u201coutspoken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\nCesar<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n